The world of multi-hued creatures never fails to amaze and amuse with its incessant and often clever usage of color. The Language of Color at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (a display that is no longer available for viewing) there were many examples of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and insects included, demonstrated and taught how certain specimens ward off danger, defy their predators and relentlessly attract the opposite sex.

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I read a Casey Research article the other day about how the energy of laughing is so good for us.

You may have heard of laughing clubs and laughter yoga, which are based on the concept that laughter decreases stress and helps promote wellbeing physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Article author David Galland, Managing Director of Casey Research, describes his experience at a laughter event where the hosts demonstrated the importance of filling our thoughts and minds with good thoughts via the “garbage in, garbage out” concept.

Event organizers played clips of a comedy until everyone was rolling with laughter, then they played the first scene of Saving Private Ryan, which showed the devastation experienced by soldiers in the first wave of the invasion of Normandy. As attendees watched the brutal war scenes, the mood in the room shifted downward rapidly. Mr. Galland writes:

One minute, having just seen the comedic clip, I remember feeling light and happy, the world full of promise and posies and all that, and the next, feeling deeply sad, all the light sucked from the room, as well as one’s very soul.

The point was made, and made well, namely that we are what we think about – and what we think about is hugely influenced by the stimuli we expose ourselves to. Maybe depressed people don’t gravitate to depressing books and movies – but are actually depressed by their choice of media. … Just a thought.

That same day I read a similar message in Wayne Dyer’s book Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life. This book is based on his yearlong study of the Chinese classic text Tao Te Ching by philosopher Lao Tzu.

In Dyer’s exploration of the thirtieth verse of the Tao, which he titles “living without force,” he quotes the verse, shares his understanding of it, and closes with a paragraph titled “Do the Tao Now.”

In the thirtieth verse Lao Tzu writes that we must not battle but endeavor to prevent conflicts and war, and Dyer’s “Do the Tao Now” reads:

In line with altering the way you look at the world, today change every television channel and radio station that presents an image or audio of the use of force or violence. Then increase that “no tolerance” policy to include movies, videos, and games that have beating, homicides, and chase scenes.

I did this years ago because I cannot bear to watch anything with violence or anything scary. I always felt I was a coward, but now I am finding it was my spirit taking care of me. According to the Academy Awards I miss a lot of “great” movies, but what I don’t miss is the feeling I get from watching anything negative.

I don’t listen to loud, jarring music either. My ears and body are sensitive to harsh sounds; I cannot physically do it. I once saw pictures of what heavy metal music does to water molecules, and I was amazed how depressive that music is and how it disorganizes the energy field.

Since we are made up of about 60 percent water, and since our brains are made up of about 70 percent water, it only makes sense to bring into the body vibrations that support rather than hinder us. You can see for yourself by checking out the video on The Work of Masaru Emoto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33IiYb8htHk

When I saw both of these messages in one day I thought it was time to write about the importance of being aware that what we put into our bodies through our mouths, ears and eyes has an immense impact on who we are and how we feel.

If this resonates with you, maybe you want to turn off the TV programs that celebrate our lesser natures and turn to something more edifying, like laughter.

I’m not asking you to deny the way things are, or to ignore what is going on, but I believe that if more of us turn to light and laughter, fewer of us are likely to turn to war, murder, mayhem and destruction. Wouldn’t that be awesome, to be part of building a world dedicated to peace and wellbeing!

It’s all our choice and within our power. Which path are you choosing?

Tomorrow is the winter solstice and also the new moon. For those of you who work with moon cycles, it is the time we can discard things that no longer serve us and state our intentions for what we want to create in our lives. This new moon is even more strong tomorrow and the portal is even wider because it falls exactly on the solstice.

So how will you celebrate and acknowledge this sacred and powerful portal? There are offerings out there from many teachers and leaders for meditations, sound healings, and celebrations. I personally will be making an energy essence of this time putting into it the things I wish to release. When it is complete, I will pour it into Mother Earth to be released and transformed into liquid light. I will make a second one at the same time, infusing into it all the intentions I have for my life for the future. This one will be preserved to be used to support me in manifesting these positive intentions.

The solstice time for my area, which is on Eastern Standard Time, is 6:03pm to 8:36pm EST on Dec. 21. I have the great fortune to be able to walk a labyrinth during this same time period so as I walk in, I will be thinking of all those things I want to release. Once in the center, I will consciously leave those things behind, and as I walk out, I will carry with me the energies of my new intentions.

How will you spend the solstice this year? What do you want to release? What do you want to bring in? This solstice period is such a wonderful gift we are being given. Use it wisely and fill your life with more light as we celebrate the return of the light to our lives.

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My husband and I have made a decision to turn off the TV for the most part. We used to start and end our day with watching TV news, financial shows and so on. What we have discovered is that none of these sources are unbiased, nor are they giving us real news or information. In addition, they used to make us feel on edge and anxious.

It was a slow, gradual thing that happened. First my husband tuned out. Then I saw his wisdom and decided to join him. We do watch TV but it is very selective. He watches sports, I watch home oriented shows or the food network. He watches financial shows with the sound off, I watch Masterpiece on PBS. But that is it. There are days and days that can go by with no sound of the TV blaring for either one of us.

It’s not like we don’t know what is going on as it is hard to totally disconnect from the world. Indeed, every time I log into my email account headlines reach out to titillate, to entice, to pull me into their stories and tales of woe.

What has changed is we are no longer news junkies, nor are we so wrapped up in the news that we forget to slow down, meditate, be present to each other. We are by no means the standard for no TV because as I stated, we DO watch….just much more conscientiously.

We have more peace in our lives, we go to sleep with sweetness on our minds, not violence, injustices, and world problems. We live with possibilities, not with the frustration of not being able to do anything about what is happening. We pray, we send out good energy, we yearn for a better world but we don’t wallow in the darkness.

I highly suggest you try to turn off the news to the best of your ability. I promise you your world will relax and you will feel better. If you choose to do this, let me know how it works for you and if it has made a difference for you. Good luck. And good bye, junk food for the mind!

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I’ve been having a lot of memories pop up recently. They seem to arise from many sources: a familiar aroma, something seen on TV or in a magazine or on the internet, a familiar word, a book I might come across….these memories just spring out of seemingly no where.

I know that when my parents got “old”, they would often tell me stories from their past. I loved hearing those stories and the more I heard of them, the more I encouraged them to write them down for perpetuity and to share with their grandchildren.

They did not write them down and now I see that their memories were to them, just stories from the past. Nothing particularly special to write down, just memories that were dear to them in some way.

I guess I am “old” now and wonder what to do with these memories that float up. Bits and pieces of my past appear for review and I either laugh or wince at them. Most of them are good, in a soothing sort of way. I’m wondering if they help pave the way to our exit from this life.

I love remembering little snippets of my life that made me happy: my first view of the Rocky Mountains and the amazement I felt. How my Dad would pick me up at day camp all dirty and sweaty and take me to get an ice cream, mostly for HIS sweet tooth but I did not resist in the least! How I loved walking to and from school twice a day and played endless games with myself going and coming. Creating great snow caves to play house in with my dog. Running through the woods on a summer’s day to get to the meadow to lie on my back and watch the clouds, making stories up as I watched them move across the sky. Going to the movies for 25 cents on a cold Saturday afternoon and watching the cartoons and newsreels before the main show. Seeing the nuns emerge from our Catholic Church and wishing I were Catholic so I could be one of them. Observing the girls from our local University and imagining what I would do and be when I became one of them. Our pink bathroom that I shared with my two sisters and how I used to love to go through my older sister’s makeup to see all the gorgeous colors of nail polish and lipsticks. Even better was looking at my Mom’s Makeup and imagining how fun it would be to play with it. Roller skating, climbing the apple trees, playing kick the can with neighbor kids until it was almost too dark to see.

You see, I have been busy remembering. I really am wondering why all these memories are all of a sudden appearing. There are tons more. Just snippets of a life that I barely relate to any more. That young girl is long gone but still some where within. I want to tell her things and share things with her. I want to tell her that no matter what, she mustn’t loose herself in the whirlwind of life. I want to tell her that if she has patience and perseverance, that things will work out. I want to tell her to focus more on her heart and less on the comments that others make about her. And so much more.

I’m wondering why the memories? Is this like my life flashing before me before I die? Or is it my life in review TO review. To take stock of what I’ve done well, and what I could have done better at? To see how far I’ve come and how far I have to go?

Whatever the reason, I am enjoying these snippets as they appear. And I’ll take them as gifts from a past long gone but one that affects me to this very minute. I am after all the sum total of that life. Mistakes, triumphs, secrets, friends, teachers, activities, and all else. A quiet rather mundane life, but my life. Memories and all.

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Here we are at the end of the summer and I for one am wondering where on earth summer went? Is it me or is time speeding up?

At any rate, it is Labor Day weekend, a holiday where we honor our work ethic and the laborers who make the nation, at least in the past, a prosperous and successful one. It is part of our culture to honor working hard. After all, it is people who work hard that made this country what it once was.

But where is the day that honors meditation, or rest, or slowing down? I don’t see that we do slow down that much in our society, nor are we encouraged to. Everything is geared to faster! now! hurry! We are always head down looking at our devices that alert us to texts, social media updates, emails. We are constantly searching for things that are quick fixes, quick answers, instant gratification.

Being enmeshed in this is like shutting out our connection to the wisdom that lies within us all. It robs us of patience replacing that with a feeling of entitlement to quick, instant, immediate results. By being so tuned in to the culture of now, we will eventually short ourselves out by being constantly plugged in much like a childhood toy that is fueled by batteries, dying one day when we most want to play with it.

So on this weekend where we celebrate work, workers and the like, take a few moments for contemplation as well. Slow down and learn to listen. After a few tries at that, see if you can incorporate that into your daily lives. For it is there, in the stillness of being connected to your heart and intuition that you will find the true guidance and true connection we are all looking for.